Dc

can anyone advise on a suitable programmer to activate a boiler which only heats the house, all rads have a separate thermostat. Local brico seemed very expensive (148 euros)Any help/advice greatly appreciated. dc

Can anyone recommend a dentist in Department 17. I live close to Surgeres and yesterday tried to get an emergency appointment contacting 7 different dentists who were all too busy to fit me in. Any help greatly appreciated. regards dc  

I have purchased a 3 year old car via Ebay from a guy in Spain. The car had all its VAT paid when registered in Spain. Does anyone know what I will have to pay when I re-register it here in France and obtain my new carte grise. Any help greatly appreciated. dc

I have registered with CPAM via my wife's E106 and we are both covered until the end of the year. When this runs out I understand we will have to pay into the system as we are below retirement age and not working. Can anyone tell me how much we is will have to pay as our only income is via interest on our savings. I have looked for the tariffs on the internet but cannot find them. Any help/info greatly appreciated.   regards dc

I have built a new outside wall using the grey blocks (parpain ?). It now needs painting. Can anyone advise what to use and how to do it. Thanks in anticipation for any help/advice.   dc

I am about to register my rover cabriolet here in France but I need a certificate of conformité from the manufacturers. With the closure of Rover what do I do??? Any advice greatly appreciated. regards dc

Would somebody plrease confirm that all grout is waterproof or am I using the wrong stuff, suitable for internal and external work and therefore waterproof ?? regards dc

I need to buy some coloured gravel for the garden and drive, about 10 cubic metres. Does anybody know any approximate costs and any suppliers. I'm in Dept 17 but any info would be greatly appreciated. regards dc

Can anyone advise the best way to grout mosaic tiles as I am struggling with all the cleaning after using my grout spreader. Any advice greatly appreciated. regards dc

Does anyone know if there are rules regarding the required height for an evacuation chimney for an oil fired boiler. Any help greatly appreciated. regards dc 

Alexis are you on broadband? regards dc

Is anyone out there able to use Wanadoo mail or have I got a virus.  I go to my Wanadoo inbox where I am supposed to have 7 messages and all I get is a blank screen. Any feedback greatly appreciated. regards dc

Can anybody advise the best way of laying tiles on a wooden floor and what tile adhesive and any additives that are required? Any help greatly appreciated! regards dc

I also insured car with Insurance solutions as ripfrancais. Well happy - "you pays your money and takes your chance"!! regards dc

Just to clarify the price of just the boiler, supply only and not for fitting, and will be used to heat the radiators only, not to heat domestic water. In my book over £2500 for supply of a boiler to do this is indeed a "rip-off" or am I just getting mean in my old age!   dc

I have piped and installed 14 radiators myself but need an oil fired boiler and oil tank etc. I asked a local artisan for a devis to supply and install the rest but the price of a boiler 3600 euros plus tax has put me right off, they seem to think that "Les Anglais" are made of money. One of the reasons for leaving the UK was to get away from "rip-off merchants"! Can anyone advise on the following: What bits do I need? Best place to get them! What has to be done and how easy/pratical it is to fit what's required. Failing that the name and number of a good reliable plumber for Department 17. Any help greatly appreciated as the house is cold and my wife is giving me ear-ache for not sorting things out earlier. "C'est la vie". dc

Are there any Ileostomists out there who are resident in France who could help me with my condition and advise on the French health service. regards dc 

Thanks to all for replies. Berlingo sounds like a good idea as I recall Jeremy Clarkson raving about the car. dc  

Our beautiful cross labrador loves hunting,digging up and eating field mice. Is this common amongst dogs or is ours a little strange. dc 

I have bought most of my fittings from the local diy shop at hugely inflated prices compared to the UK but still cheaper than the two "chauffage specialists" that I tried here in Department 17(Charente Maritime). Where have I gone wrong? Any advice greatly appreciated. dc (aspiring plumber- hope it doesn't leak when I've finished)

Does anyone using Wanadoo have any problems viewing their contacts when trying to write an e-mail? Each time I try I get a message saying page unavailable "connection failed"  "no route to host" and its been like this for over a week now. Any help greatly appreciated. dc

Thanks to all for the advice, this forum is really useful for the novice diyer, I basically was not getting the joint hot enough. I was OK on 14 mm pipe but not on 22mm as it takes a lot longer to heat up. regards dc

We have been given a beautiful cross Labrador, our first dog and will need a new car to accommodate her. Has anybody got any suggestions as to what to get. Any help greatly appreciated. regards dc

I am having terrible trouble soldering French copper end feed joints on to French copper pipe using English flux, English solder and English blow torch. The solder is forever melting and not being sucked into the joint. I've used more metres of solder than pipe. Can somebody please advise how to do it right because I'm fairly certain that my new central heating will p*ss water all over the house. Any help greatly appreciated. regards dc (aspiring plumber)

We have a  raised open stone fireplace with chimney which we burn wood in a fire basket. It is great to look at but does not really generate enough heat as most of it goes up the chimney. Should we buy a backplate, an insert or foyer (what's the difference?)? to improve things. Our oil fired central heating is not yet installed( I've bought the radiators and pipes)so need a quick and hopefully cheap solution to our problem. Any advice greatly appreciated. dc